THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY. PART I. 169 



"In the San Jose district there is a total of about 107 hectares covered 

 with buri palms averaging about 1,500 young palms and 500 medium and old 

 palms per hectare or a total of about 214,000, of which 53,500 are matured. 

 Nearly all are on the land of the Mindoro Development Company. 



"In Biilalacao and Mansalay there is a total of about 50 hectares covered 

 by buri palms, of which there are about 1,000 young and about 400 medium and 

 old palms per hectare, or a total of 70,000 palms of which 20,000 are mature. 



"The Pinamalayan-Cawayan district has 9 stands containing a total of about 

 3,803 hectares and 927,974 palms, of which 73,134 are mature. The mature palms 

 are not dense, 60 to the hectare being the greatest number and the average being 

 about 20. 



"The Polo district has a total of about 167 hectares in 2 stands containing 

 about 67,600 palms, of which 3,100 are matured. 



"The Naujan district has a total of about 510 hectares in 4 stands covered 

 by about 379,750 palms, of which 35,750 are mature. 



"The Calapan district contains a total of about 278 hectares in 9 stands 

 where there are about 204,817 palms, of which 19,012 are mature. The largest 

 stand is near Gutod and contains about 14,550 matured palms in 150 hectares or. 

 about 97 to the hectare. 



"In these various regions the palms do not grow in one stand but in scattered 

 groups." 



It is thus found that about 5,006 hectares of hmd on this island are 

 covered bj^ 1,918,141 buri palms, of which number 226,094, or about 12 

 per cent, are mature trees. 



DESCRIPTION. 



The buri is a stout, erect palm with a crown of large, fan-shaped 

 leaves. It is of slow growth, but attains a very great size ; it flowers 

 and fruits but once, the fruit terminating the stem ; and after the 

 ripening of the fruit, the tree dies. There are no statistics available, 

 but it seems to be a common belief that the life of a buri palm is not 

 less than twenty-five to thirty years. During the latter part of its exist- 

 ence, great quantities of starch are stored in its trunk. At the time of 

 maturity an enormous, pyramidal, terminal inflorescence is produced and 

 the leaves fall from the tree. 



USES. 



Although the buri, unlike the coconut palm, furnishes no products of 

 commei'cial value worth mentioning outside of the Philippines, with 

 the- possible exception of hats, the many uses to which its parts are put 

 bv the natives of this Archipelago give it a great importance. In respect 

 to this the buri ranks second to the coconut in the Islands."* 



" Concerning the possibility of using certain parts of the buri for paper 

 making, see Philippine Fibers and Fibrous Substances: Their Suitability for 

 Paper Making (Part II). G. F. Richmond. This Journal (1906), 1, 1083. 



